Question, is this thread dead? I'm considering reusing Salvator's alias for another PbP, but would only do so if this thread is being given the axe.
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Salvator attempts to close with Kari, double move if necessary, but if he can get reasonably close (30 ft, I'm not sure how far I can get given if the river is difficult terrain), without having to fire through cover, he'll finally throw that Chakram at the nearest bandit, if Kari has managed to disengage from the bandits. He is not making any attempt to be stealthy, he'd rather enemies engaged him.
On, the other hand, if his party is composed of players who haven't optimized, they could get crushed. It's hard for us to give you balance help without knowing what the players have. It's like trying to bet on one of two sides when one of the sides is currently no more than a name. You have no point of reference to make a judgment on. Summary, with only knowing how strong the tarasque is, we can't make a judgment*. *well, we could make a judgment, and it might even be right, but only by luck.
Ah, my bad, I thought the Tarrasque's reflection chance was how often the ability triggered as a whole, not how only just how often it was reflected, and that it was always immune. Regardless, the Tarrasque is still a horribly over CR'd monster. A good fighter type character at level 20 should be churning out hundreds of damage a round vs a AC 40 DR 15 monster, and it looks like this party has at least two. Let's take a Naginata Samurai (Ronin) who, with his party, comes up to the tarrasque. For the purposes of this discussion, we'll say he isn't first targetted when the tarrasque charges, they let him hang back, so, he makes a spirited charge with his naginata for double damage after challenging. He also decides to spend his 1/day free 20 and full power attack. The Tarrasque gets a maximum of 4 AoO vs the Samurai, who now has at least DR 3 against him (because he should totally be wearing adamantium for this fight). Even with landing all four attacks, he's not gonna take out the Samurai or his horse, he isn't going to be able to use grab, and if he tries to trip then he provokes an AoO from everyone in reach. Then let's take that Naginata Samurai's damage, because, on this charge he's almost certainly going to confirm that crit (Samurai bonuses to confirm crit and charges are like, +10?, if he's taken the right feats, and he gets a reroll if necessary). It's gonna be (4.5 (base wep avg) + 18 (two handed power attack) +4 (wep specialization and greater) + 9 (bare minimum two handed strength assumption) +20 (challenge) + 3 (bare minimum enhancement bonus)) * 8 - 15.. Or, the tarrasque has just suffered more than 4/5ths of it's health in a single attack, from one member of the level 20 party. If the rest of the part is able to do another 100 or so damage, they win. If the Naginata Samurai gets buffed first, or can in general muster up another 10ish or so damage than my conservative assumptions above, god rest the poor tarrasque's soul. One shotted by a character so many levels below it's CR. The tarrasque has very impressive stats, but it effectively runs up to the party and melees them as it's only option (because it will hardcore lose ranged battles. A single wind wall will entirely negate its ranged ability). Level 20 well built melee characters that know what they're up against will tear the Tarrasque a new one. Literally, if the tarrasque makes the mistake of trying to eat a melee character with swallow whole. If a party has 2-3 well built martial characters and at least one good buffer, I don't expect the tarrasque to last longer than a single round.
The real answer you're looking for is can a Tarrasque beat a single Imperial Dragon. If we're talking about a Great Wyrm Sky Dragon here, the answer is "No". The tarrasque will do an average of about 18 damage a round, while the Imperial dragon will churn out an average of 85ish damage (30% chance of reflection). Even with regeneration and difference in starting health, the Tarrasque will lose to a single dragon CR'd 4 below it. Oh, and if it played smart and used wind wall and flyby's, it would take a grand total of 0 damage the entire fight. The tarrasque vs multiple dragons, as long as the dragon's breath type works on the tarrasque is a woefully uneventful curbstomped. The tarrasque is a monster very over CRed, while dragon's are under CR'd.
Dunno why people keep saying it's about devils when I keep saying the party's goal is to prevent a ritual from freeing Rovagug. The devils are completely ok with somebody achieving that. They negotiated a truce. (The party is becoming more evil. A previously CN character took a dive into CE after burning down an entire district, starting with a nunnery to find a shielded box. And he locked the doors first.) They get along pretty well with the devils, in all honesty. ~~ Anyway, turned out the party spent the entire session on two encounters I had left over from previous sessions, didn't even get to any of the stuff I prepared with you guy's help. A Wave Striking, Combat Patroling, Samurai/Ranger with some mook guards gave the Aldori Swordlord, Bard, and Godling a good time with near death, epic victories, and a timely crit to win the day. As the rogue and sorc weren't there, their abilities that would have made the battle into a 1 round affair was not an issue. The next fight the party didn't really stand much of a chance. Level 15 sorcerer had half the party down before they got a turn (dominate rogue while scouting, order to sneak attack sorcerer, then dominate healer from invis). But, the sorcerer was only interested in killing their NPC patron and then replacing that person as their patron, so no deaths.
Trait bonuses don’t stack, so he can only use 1. One of them is for reducing metamagic costs, not improving CL. As for that last +2, it's kinda moot (with CL 16 he already maxes out at 15d6+30 x1.5), but he gets it from the Godling, who sunk pretty much all of his specialization into this power that grants +2 morale to CL to anyone with a fire-type bloodline/mystery/domain within 60 ft.
Oh wow, that was really far off. My bad. ~~ What about a dragon cultist/whatnot, level 10 spellcaster, maybe hiding behind illusions waiting for opportune moment, with 2-3 Glass Golems, would that be a good encounter?
Oh yeah, I was thinking about 4 of them, combined with like, 30 low level get 1-shotted mooks for fun and bloodshed. For his fireball spell,
Empowered Intensified, that ends up as an average of 123.75 fire damage, at CL 18 for penetrating spell resistance.
The problem with designing foes for this party is not that the party is super strong all around, but that it is incredibly focused in ways that make it hard for me to make an opponent that can survive their few good tricks, without obliterating the party. Sorcerer has incredible firepower, but has invested very little in defense of any sort. Glass cannon to the max. Nearly got killed by four Crypt Things (CR 5) teleporting next to him, preventing him from AoE'ing his way out of things (as he doesn't have a chance in hell of surviving one of his own spells) Rogue has very good offense and stealth, but has a +3 will save (yeah.... he didn't know about Cloaks of Resistance at the start) The Aldori Swordlord/Monk is nigh invulnerable.. but that's all he is. He can't pump out that much DPS or even close with kiting opponent's usually. And the other two have a LOT of trouble contributing. ~~ Ooh.. Mephits? Nice idea.. ~~ Here's one minion type I've got, look about right? Advanced Half-Fiend Flame Drake CR 8
DEFENSE AC 25, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+5 Dex, +11 natural, –1 size)
OFFENSE Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
STATISTICS Str 29, Dex 21, Con 24, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 16
SPECIAL ABILITIES Fireball Breath (Su) A flame drake can, as a standard action, breathe a ball of flame that explodes like a fireball. This attack has a range of 180 feet and deals 5d6 points of fire damage (DC 20 Reflex half) to all creatures within a 20-foot-radius spread. Once a flame drake has used its fireball breath, it cannot do so again for 1d6 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based. Speed Surge (Ex) Three times per day as a swift action, a flame drake may draw on its draconic heritage for a boost of strength and speed to take an additional move action in that round. Spell-Like Abilities,
They kinda negotiated a truce with the devils. They're no more interested in Rovagug being free on the planet than the angels are. So, as long as the party doesn't contest their assault on Andoran, they seem to have an accord. Of course, I plan on the devils being a constant nuisance, even if they say that they're respecting the terms of the truce. :D
Thanks for the help guys! Should make for a fun boss fight! And, I'm not worried about the fight being too difficult, as they've got a powerful NPC in their debt (well, a default Lich, so not actually that strong), so I'm sure they could get some ressurect's if it's a TPK. (Well, technically the lich can't do that, but they don't know I'm using a default lich's stats for him. Still, it'd make sense that a necromancer could raise the part from the dead. :P)
So, the Red Adult Dragon from the bestiary does not have Silence, grab on it's bite, or fly by attack.. Should I rework it's stats so that it does? ~~ As for some minions to be thrown about in other encounters, a younger red dragon, and some Advanced Half-Fiend Flame Drakes?
I was thinking as using it as the Boss of the arc for tomorrow (which we may or may not reach), with a highly visible but long range demonstration of its power at the beginning to set the plot rolling, and now I need some minions for it. Possibly a weaker dragon for them to whet their teeth on, but I also need some other stuff. If it has clear connections to Rovagug (who the dragon is working for), all the better, but fluff is mutable.
Well, it would have to be silence cast on something that can prevent the Sorcerer from move actioning away. I suppose the dragon could silence itself, fly in and grapple the Sorcerer.
Any advice on how the Dragon should handle CL 16ish Icy Prison? The sorcerer noticed the trend toward fire resistance and picked this up on his last level up.
The rogue usually would get a surprise round and get a hit off, then do his hasted full attack routine (Initiative of like, +13), usually managing to his with another 2-3 attacks before even getting to his iterative attacks. And, thanks! The red dragon should be a good start. You can always throw a dragon at the party. :D ~~ If anyone wants some setting information, the party is supposed to be attempting to stop a plot to unleash Rovagug on the world. Currently, they are in Andoran just as an a war between Cheliax and Andoran is breaking out, at the machinations of a oh, what are those not quite Archdevil guys, Dukes?
Yeah.. The players are new, so, while they are each very, very good at their niches, they have very obvious weaknesses. What I want is something that can challenge their specialties without making them useless, as the other two players would be helpless to assist. For example, if I wanted to kill the party without them being able to do anything about it, it would be very easy to do, with just a Succubus. The rogue has a will save of +3, for example. The problem is that I'm having difficulty finding anything that can survive the party without completely negating its powers.
The party is level 11/12. Here are the problems. We have a Sorcerer, who while still doing all the good caster battle-field control, also throws out +2 damage per die CL 18 empowered intensified fireballs. We have an Aldori Swordlord/Monk, who has an AC in the mid 30s (when he's not doing his fight defensively at no penalty for extra AC), and the ability to negate one attack on himself per round, combined with crazy good saves. We have a rogue, who has an unbeatable stealth check(+38 I think it is?), and generally does about 150-ish damage when he gets the jump on his foe. Which is every single fight. The other two players spend all their time buffing, healing, and condition removal, but are otherwise harmless and easy targets. One's a healing/crappy spell/reduntant and sub-par rapier Godling, the other is a healing/crappy archetype bard who is about as deadly as a commoner offensively. So, I'm trying to prep an adventure by tomorrow, and I'm running into difficulties finding level appropriate challenges in a hurry, that can survive a single round against our characters, without completely negating their attacks. Any suggestions? Wouldn't mind shelling out some cash if there's a highly recommended module you think might work.
Hmm.. I saw that ability in the kind of "you're using the person you're sneak attacking as a shield against attacks." You're the little gnome stabbing the dragon in the back, hiding close enough to it to make it hard for dragon's minions to attack you. Sure, it doesn't always make sense, but fluffwise, I didn't see a problem.
I find that, though I haven't seen any pure monk success stories in my party, I have seen a some monk-dip success stories. For example, our Dex Aldori Swordlord/Monk, has been nearly untouchable so far thanks to his insane defensive abilities. Level 11 with armorclass in the mid thirties, great saves, and evasion (which is very handy with all the 130+ damage fireballs our Sorcerer throws out.) In one of our battles, where our party split and one sided with Bard, one sat out, and the others sided with Takaral, he was the only one who came out of the fight unscathed, and that was while pulling off stunts like running along the arm of a cloud giant skeleton in order to jump onto an archon. :P
Salvator will ready a chakram, and readies an action to throw it at the first bandit that comes within 20 ft of range (as long as he can clearly tell it's a bandit)
Kay. We're still checking up, least I am. :P
I'm pretty fine with our current set up. If you want new people, you can grab them, though. Right now, I've set up Salvator such that he could go three different routes, anti-melee fighter, damage dealer melee, or resilient sorcerer.
*sad puppy face...* But but.. Lyster was my favorite, subpar posts or no. :( Still, you gotta do what you gotta do. job college/university combo can be a beast on free time.
Salvator is looking the other direction, and thus has no idea Aedon left in the first place, much less killed someone and then came back to report. He considers humming, but then figures that's a bad idea on a stealth mission.
Salvator is keeping watch in the opposite direction, as his job is to guard against the loss of the horses and be a reserve fighter if the bandits prove stronger than anticipated. He attempts to tie the horses to a reasonably strong anchor, if possible, though he decides, half upon superstition to avoid tying them to trees if at all possible.
"As you wish." Salvator nodded, a slight smile on his lips.
Rawr. The holds the horses guy is here!
Salvator raises a hand and opens his mouth, before realizing he has no idea what a sprite is in the first place. He slowly lowers his hand and closes his mouth, after attempting to disguise his action as a silent yawn.
Yeah, I have no illusions about getting to actually solo the enemy boss. I just like to dream. :P
Man.. I hope the bad gal or whoever is running the bandit place is evil. I'd love to challenge her to single combat, and pull out the AC 24 at Level one trick. :P
Leaning down to the mumbling man, Salvator attempts to get him in a more communicative state, "Easy there, nobody's dead, and with luck, nobody will be. What's your name and who are you? My partners were a bit quick with violence because of previous experiences on the road in this country." Diplomacy
Salvator quickly drops the reins to one of the horses to grab the bow. Why would he throw me the bow? Does he want me to use it? I don't have arrows... Salvator eyes the bow, then the distance between him and the enemy. Back to the bow. He raised the bow into an overhand throwing position, hefting it experimentally, considering the distance. Nah.. He'd be mad if I messed up his bow. Salvator continued keeping watch and control of the horses.
Salvator would attempt to dismount while keeping control of the horses.
Salvator, having been handed the reins to another horse, was looking back and forth, paralyzed by indecision. He didn't know how to get off the horse while keeping the reins in hand. There were possible enemies, both his hands were full. It was not a good moment for Salvator.
Salvator attempts to tag along with Rufus, in order to learn more about horses. He trusts that the experienced cavalier will be better, but is not afraid to speak up if he notices something severely off.
"No thanks, I'll keep my gear on hand. I trust it more fallen at my feet than on the horses back." Salvator nods no as Rufus attempts to handle his gear.
"On the other hand, one cannot trap one's home longterm without fear of a mishap, lest the trap be most clever. The sooner we stand amid them, the less time they have to plot some stratagem to turn the odds in their favor. If we surmise we have the greater straightforward strength, I think we should try and get inside the base and mix it up with them, by whatever means are most expedient and reliable. I fear two men who know their foe more than four men with no knowledge but a moment's glance." Salvator offered his gut instinct on the subject.
Salvator kept his head down as usual.
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